


Glitched Techs: Twin Peaks

by Scrabbleauthor



Series: Glitched!Miko AU [5]
Category: Glitch Techs (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Character Development, Clones, Family, Flashbacks, Gen, Glitch Miko AU, Humor, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Non-Graphic Violence, Sister-Sister Relationship, Sisterly bond - Freeform, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scrabbleauthor/pseuds/Scrabbleauthor
Summary: Being the only Glitch that acts human, Miko starts to wonder about her past. With her position rocky at best, she decides to ask the one person that could answer her questions — Meico.(An AU where Miko is a Glitch with conspiracies trailing behind her.)
Relationships: Miko Kubota & Hector Nieves, Miko Kubota & Original Character
Series: Glitched!Miko AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665724
Comments: 11
Kudos: 37





	Glitched Techs: Twin Peaks

**Author's Note:**

> I accidentally pressed "Back" and deleted all the notes. I'm so stupid...
> 
> Anyway, not doing all that again. I binge-watched S2 of Glitch Techs and my parents got worried because I kept squealing like a girl in a seizure. So with a new set of notes, I can finally continue writing without being afraid of getting anything messed up. Accuracy is a writer's curse.
> 
> This is also my favourite chapter to write as of late because it's something I looked forward to. I wanted to put this in the last chapter but it didn't work out, unfortunately. But hey, it's here now and it works! 
> 
> Btw, make sure you SUBSCRIBE TO THE SERIES for future updates, not the story itself. I messed up on using series instead of multi-chapter and at this point, it's too late to fix it. I apologize for the inconvenience.
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy the read!

“Welcome Techies, to the new Glitch Techs HQ!”

BITT, the official-unofficial Bailley Glitch Techs mascot, rocketed around with a smile before slowing down and spinning in place. Two hollow cylinders then popped out on its side, blasting colourful confetti all over.

After almost three weeks of renovation, the new base was finally complete. It took a lot of time, work and money — all provided by Hinobi Technologies Corporation, thankfully — and now, the site’s got upgrades up the wazoo. New systems, new tech, new everything!

All Glitch Tech members stared in awe at the renovated base. The bulky and outdated main reception area was replaced with a sleeker counter design and a holographic centre, projecting a 3D model of the town with a live-feed of all Glitches and quests. The formerly open-space training area finally got its own room with state-of-the-art hardware. A demo room to try out upcoming games before release, weapons testing area to get your weapon certification and _boosh_ , there’s even an employee lounge with its own fully-stocked mini-fridge.

Oddly enough, the new base had a single concrete fountain. The water wasn’t even real; it was fully constructed via nano Plixels. Hinobi must be showing off their water physics.

When the base was in-progress, Techs would receive their missions either from the van or the store’s employee area. BITT would personally transfer captured Glitches to containment. Thus, the robot was just floating around in the locker room, lurking behind the corners with an unnerving smile.

It was cramped, uncomfortable and to some, a breach of privacy and human decency. Not that BITT cared.

Hector 'Five' Nieves, the Spanish-speaking Mexican-American certified good boy, awed at the sight. His incredibly tall hair stood even taller today, supported by the sheer amazement he felt. When he first joined Glitch Techs, he thought its HQ already looked cool like some gamer paradise. Now, it 1000% official.

“Golly jee wiz! Look at this place! It’s like some kind of super-spy secret base!” Five exclaimed with excitement. “Ooo, let’s go check out the simulations room first! What do you say, Miko?”

He turned to his partner, Miko Kubota: part-German, part-Japanese, part-Glitch, all gamer, gurgling like a rabid animal with foam literally oozing from her mouth. Her body vibrated at the speed of a hummingbird, as if ready to explode any minute now. She literally looked like she was in a seizure.

“Ggggrrrhgghh…!” Miko blubbered, barely forming a word.

Five observed her, somewhat concerned. “Um, Meeks? Y-you alright there?”

With stars in her eyes, Miko whispered. “I have seen the face of God and it’s not nearly as beautiful as this.”

“Uh, what?”

Carrying sugar rush energy, Miko immediately grabbed Five's hand and pulled him along, startling the poor boy. “COME ON, FIVE! I WANT TO SEE THEM ALL!”

Ever had that feeling as a child when you stepped into a video game store for the first time ever? This was that feeling. The unreleased video games, the futuristic holographic displays and consoles, the merchandising and the out-of-place fountain — this was a playground for gaming enthusiasts like herself. She was not going to slow down for this.

Dragging Five like a ragdoll, Miko ran like that same giddy child described. The moment she stepped into the main lobby, however, time came to a screeching halt.

In the corner of her eye, Miko saw a turret burst from the wall and without warning, instantly fired at her. A sphere of energy whizzed towards her and subconsciously, Miko's hair glowed.

The ball buzzed directly at her face but just as it hit, the area of contact fizzled purple. The ball then entered and passed through her, smooth as butter, before hitting the ground, dispersing harmlessly.

Once the sphere was gone, Miko felt time move back to normal and started choking. Even though only a few seconds passed, it felt like literal minutes. In those imaginary minutes, she couldn’t move — her entire body frozen in space. She couldn’t even breathe.

“W-what was that?” she coughed. Losing a step, Miko slipped and fell, tumbling onto the ground. Five, whom she carelessly dragged with, crashed into her, causing her to roll further.

 _Crash!_ “AAAAH!” “ARGH!”

“Ow…” Five exclaimed, feeling his sore arm. “Not even close to how I wanted to start the day… Miko, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm — Ach! — just peachy.” Miko replied, getting up on her knees. That felt weird and she experienced her own fair share of weirdness before.

Back at the far wall, the turret beeped and readjusted its aim, firing another sphere. Fortunately, Miko noticed it this time and pushed her partner out of the way. “Five, look out!”

The ball hit her square in her chest, knocking her back. It then rapidly expanded and before she could hit the ground, she was encased in a large bubble, floating in its centre. Adorable pixel-art cats floated alongside her but only illusionary; she couldn’t actually touch any of them.

“W-wah, what’s going on?!” Miko shrieked. When she willingly used the same tech on Mitch, she had no problem. Now, she finally understood why Mitch was so mad at her that day.

Oh dear Mario, was she becoming Mitch? This is a nightmare.

Once her bubble stopped bouncing, the automated PA system blared to life, speaking in a cheery feminine voice. _“Glitch detected and contained! To any nearby personnel, please capture and transfer the contained Glitch to the collection bin. Thank you and have a safe Hinobi day!”_

Miko gawked at the announcement. She wasn’t a Glitch! Well, she was but she wasn’t a _bad_ Glitch!

“M-Miko!” Five shouted in panic. He ran straight to her and activated his visor. “Don’t worry Meeks, I’ll get you out! Let me just, umm, figure out how first.”

While Five scanned the bubble for a way, footsteps echoed behind him. A figure emerged from out of his view and with a few taps on her gauntlet, the bubble instantaneously dispersed, popping like an actual bubble. Without the bubble suspending her, Miko fell face-first onto the floor.

“OW! What is with this day?!” Miko complained as she sat upright, rubbing her red bruised nose.

As Five went and checked on Miko, the same figure loomed over him, causing him to turn. Upon seeing who it was, however, his mood brightened.

“Zahra!” Five happily said. “You’re here!”

Zahra Rashid, senior member of Glitch Techs and the definition of cool, at least for Five. She apparently got an upgrade recently, changing her old look with a brand new and very stylish dark-blue jacket, courtesy of Hinobi. Quiet but not rude, serious but not anti-fun, she was, without a doubt, a close friend.

“What’s up, fearless leader? Fancy seeing you this early in the morning.” She replied with a friendly smirk.

“Yeah, nice to see you too! Something just shot at us and put Miko in a time-out. What was that?” Five asked, helping Miko up.

“Yeah! Not cool, shiny new GT HQ! Not! Cool!” Miko agreed, followed by yelling at the ceiling.

Hearing that, Zahra cringed with a hiss. “Oo, yeah, sorry about that, Miko. The new HQ got some updated security and well, some bugs were in order. Or as some companies call 'features'.”

Miko dusted off her clothes and smiled. “Well if that’s the case, I guess it’s fine. No time-crunched game gets released without some major bugs nowadays. Ain’t I right?” She replied, nudging Five playfully. The duo chuckled at the unfortunate reality of video game publishing.

“Anyway, we should head off. But hey, if you want to come with, that’d be super cool! The only thing better than a duo is a trio!” Miko cheered, extending a team invite.

Sadly, Zahra raised her hands and refused. “Sorry Miko, not today. I actually came here for you…”

Miko stared at Zahra thoughtfully, a sullen look on her face. She then placed a hand on the Muslim girl’s shoulder, a tearful expression on her face. “… Zahra, you’re a fantastic woman and someday, you’ll find someone with the same feelings. I’m sorry, my Techie friend, but I don’t feel the same to you.”

It took a moment and slowly but surely, Zahra blushed, red as a tomato. “W-what?! Nnn-n-no! I’m not getting on to you!”

Eyebrows raised, Miko lowered her arm. “Oh? Then I take back everything I said—”

“I still need to tell you something. It’s urgent.”

“But you have to tell me why. Like, I’m a pretty good girl with a great personality—”

“Miko.”

“And I have purple hair! I mean, how many people do you know have natural purple hair? I know one though—”

“ _Miko._ ”

“But I’m not ready to talk about her. It’s a whole other messed up on that.”

Abruptly, Zahra grabbed Miko's shoulder and shook her. Just a little bit though, enough to gain her attention. “Miko! This is important! We have to get to Phil's new office before—”

Just then, the PA system shrilly blared to life. Though, instead of a robotic female voice, it was a familiar British jerkface voice. A voice that everyone who’s worked in this particular Hinobi store exactly knew.

 _“Attention, Glitched Miko! Miko the Glitch, can you hear me? I’m not even sure if this is on…”_ The speaker then screeched loudly, causing everyone to cover their ears in pain. _“Oh, it’s on alright. Anyway, Glitched Miko! Please come to the manager’s office this instant. It’s about your Glitch-iness. Thank you.”_

All the Techs directed their attention towards the aforementioned girl, nothing but judgemental stares. Embarrassed, Miko attempted to cover her blushing face but it was too late for that. Now everyone in Glitch Techs HQ knew who she was and her unique condition.

Zahra sighed. “Before he finds the microphone…”

_“This message is sponsored by the great Mitch Williams! Boosh! Yeah, you heard that right, noobs!”_

* * *

Phil's new office was… exactly like his old one. Sure, it was a few square-feet bigger but the boss man literally just moved the furniture from the old office into the new one. It even had the Chomp Kitty poster taped to the wall.

However, there were two major differences. One, the room was covered with post-it notes in angry red letters and two, Phil wasn’t there. Instead, the moment they entered the room, Mitch Williams, top gamer-slash-Glitch Tech with a British accent, swung around on the swivel chair like some evil overlord. He also wore the same outfit Zahra did, jacket and all.

Gone was his Elvis-inspired haircut. It’s back to the classics — french fries hair.

“What’s up, kiddos? Welcome to… my office. As they say in Spain, _'mi casa et su casa'_.” Mitch greeted with a punchable smile.

Zahra sighed and shook her head. “It’s not your office. It’s Phil's.”

“Yeah but he’s not here and he put me in charge.”

“He put both of us in charge. He wouldn’t trust you with a pair of safety scissors.”

Out of character, Five stomped his way to the desk and slammed both hands onto it angrily. He snarled at the man behind the desk and for a good reason. “Mitch, what the heck, man?!”

Mitch, however, stared back unconcerned. “… I’m sorry but I feel a lot of uncalled aggression here.”

Five leaned closer with a glare. “ _You can’t just tell everyone that Miko is a Glitch!_ Especially when all of us are trained to _hunt Glitches!_ ”

Despite Five's reasoning, Mitch blew it off. “Oh please, we all know everyone is going to figure it out sooner or later. I just pulled the bandaid early.”

_“That’s not how you use bandaids!”_

“Besides, I actually do have a reason for calling her here. I wouldn’t use the speakers for fun.” Mitch added.

Zahra turned towards him, flabbergasted. “That was exactly what you did!”

“I was testing it, Zahra. That’s how microphones work.” Mitch shot back before shifting his attention to the subject at hand: Miko. “Anyway, this does concern your Glitch, uh… condition? I don’t know but it’s about that thing.”

At that moment, Zahra began coughing in her fist. Not unintentionally but deliberate, eying the drawer next to him. Noticing what she meant, Mitch groaned.

“Urgh, must I?” He argued. In response, Zahra frowned.

“Come on, this is important. We don’t want her to miss any details.” She reasoned.

Although annoyed, Mitch complied and opened a drawer. Inside, he grabbed a stack of hard-paper cards, and one by one, he began reading, mimicking Phil’s voice.

“'Miko, it’s me, Phil. I’m having Mitch read this in case he ever conveniently forgets. If he does; Zahra, tell him to read the cards.’”

She smirked victoriously.

 _Flip!_ “'Now, I won’t be here for a few days because I’m meeting Hinobi's board of directors to discuss about you. I was able to convince them to let you stay for a brief period but not all of them were alright with it.’”

 _Flip!_ “'With you being a Glitch, a few of them wanted to poke you in a lab and see how you tick. You don’t exactly qualify as human and there’s a lot of grey legality with that.’”

 _Flip!_ “‘There are also those who don’t want anything to do with you and just wanting you to get fired.’”

 _Flip!_ “'Anyway, you don’t have to about it. I’ll make sure you get to stay as a Tech. Until then, Mitch and Zahra are in charge. Sincerely,'” He then flipped to the other side. “‘Phil.’”

He pulled out the final card. “‘P.S. Make sure Mitch reads my post-it notes. I don’t want him touching my stuff.’”

Mitch then twisted towards Zahra and scowled. “There! You can tell Phil I read his stupid cards!”

“Wait, can you do it again? I wasn’t recording.”

“Eff off to the Twilight Zone!”

While the two senior Techs continued to throw snark at one another, Miko slowly processed the new information. Apparently, not everyone in Hinobi's higher-ups agreed on her status. Thankfully, it’s implied that most allowed her to stay but a vocal minority was against it, either wanting her to leave or to be studied on.

Phil said not to worry but for the teenager, this was somewhat distressing.

Too deep in thought, a muffled voice called out to her. After several attempts, the voice spoke louder and louder and finally, snapped her out of it.

“Miko!”

“What, what?! I’m awake!” she blurted, realizing that the other three were staring at her. “S-sorry, I was just thinking, that’s all.”

Mitch rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatevs. I wanted to tell you that you’ll be working on store duty today. Due to the security bug, we can’t have you working as a Glitch Tech. Once the day-one patch rolls in, that might change.”

Zahra nodded before taking over. “Because Mitch and I are temporarily replacing Phil, we can’t work in the field either until he’s back. So Five will be partnered up with Bergy. You okay with that?”

Five replied with a nod. “Yeah, sure. We’ve been on a team before.”

Zahra smiled. “Good. That’s about it, I think. If you ever need anything else, just give us a call.”

“Yep, until then,” Mitch grabbed a cup of freshly-brewed coffee, made exactly how Phil preferred. There was a post-it note on the recipe that said Mitch wasn’t allowed to try it but much like anything else, he ignored it.

Mitch let the coffee's aroma float through him. “Aah… Now get out of my office.”

The British gamer then took a long sip, only to unexpectedly spit it out. Five, Miko and Zahra all recoiled in horror as coffee flew everywhere. If it was ordinary coffee, they wouldn’t mind that much but this was tainted by his saliva. There was no greater shame than being infected by Mitch's Mitchness.

“AHHH! YOU GOT COFFEE ON MY HIJAB!”

“HOW DOES PHIL DRINK THIS STUFF?! I CAN’T FEEL MY TONGUE!”

* * *

“Hello, welcome to the Hinobi Store. How may I help you, ma’am?”

Today was an average day in Bailley's main store. The town has many Hinobi stores but only one with its own building. This was also where the Bailley-branch Glitch Tech was located and as expected by its status, it’s also the largest video game and electronics store within city limits.

Because of how large it was, having so many employees working at once was normal. Not all Glitch Techs worked as hunters; roughly half were always at the main base. Schedules were posted every week, determining who got fieldwork that day and who didn’t. This was done through a computer to make sure everyone got their fair share.

However, it’s completely allowed to switch shifts with other employees. Let’s say this one Tech didn’t want to go doing quest; they can ask to change with other Techs. No matter which job you did, you’d get paid roughly the same, outside of raises and promotions.

When working at the store, it was pretty much the same as any other shop. They would restock the shelves, give helpful advice to customers or just basic cleaning duties. Miko took her role behind the counter as the cashier of the day.

An old woman in her 70s walked up to the counter, carrying a reusable tote bag. She pulled out a box — a 'JumpMan’ limited-edition Hinobi Switch — and then placed it on the countertop.

“I’m sorry b-but my console isn’t doing so well. I bought it just a week ago but it’s been making weird noises and scaring my dear Jojo.” The old lady explained. “It should be going 'wweeeng' but instead, is going 'greeeeh'.”

“Oof, that sounds bad. Let me take a look.” Miko replied. With the customer’s permission, she pulled the handheld out the box and began the inspection.

So far, the outer case seemed to be in pristine condition. The back of the console had the signature JumpMan printed on it while the locked-in controllers had a nice black matte finish. Opening a drawer, Miko pulled out a small screwdriver and carefully unscrewed the back.

Instantly, she saw something wrong. The Plixel processor, a standard component in all Hinobi devices, was improperly installed. It’s a miracle that the Hinobi Switch didn’t summon a Glitch yet, especially after a week of use.

Well, that was an easy fix.

Carefully, Miko readjusted the processor before putting back on the cover. Once done, she turned on the console and gradually, it booted up, revealing the company logo with the recognizable 'wweeeng’ sound.

“There you go, ma’am! Good as new!” Miko confirmed, repacking and handing it to the old lady.

Grateful, the woman smiled. “Oh, thank you, girl. H-how much for the repairs?” she asked, pulling out her purse.

In response, Miko quickly waved both hands, blocking her. “Oh no, there’s no charge. We at Hinobi are happy to help.” Miko then bowed slightly, her hands front on her thighs. “Thank you for visiting Hinobi. I hope you have a safe trip back.”

With a wave of goodbye, the old woman left the store, leaving Miko alone by the counter as she waited for her next customer. Hah, such was life.

Miko didn’t hate working at the store. In fact, it’s pretty much a dream job. But from the very beginning, she knew full well she preferred hunting down Glitches with super awesome tech than, well, this.

Miko sighed. Even if it was just a day, she already missed going out on the van with Five. The wind in her hair, the little talks they had; it was odd how romantic this started to sound. Out of nowhere, a coworker walked up to her from the side.

“Hey there, Miko. I’m surprised to see you here.” The bespectacled coworker greeted.

Another Tech by the name of Nix, one of the older members of their regular group. Because of how cool it sounded, Miko wasn’t sure if it was a gamer tag like Five but at this point, she’d rather not ask.

“Oh hey, Nix!” Miko greeted back. “Didn’t realize it was your shift.”

“It’s usually not but I owed a friend a favour. Not like it bothers me anyway. I actually like working at the store.” He spoke, proud at the fact. “But enough about me. How goes the human Glitch?”

Straightaway, her smile fell from her face. Human Glitch. Not Glitch human. According to English grammar rules, that meant she was a Glitch first, human second. Much like how a coat hanger is a hanger, or a taxi driver is a driver.

She didn’t even count as human.

“Yeah…” Miko mumbled, looking down and adorning a slight frown. “Human Glitch…”

Seeing her reaction, Nix realized what he did and quickly apologized. “Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t know it was a sensitive topic…”

Miko recoiled and shook her head and hands. “No no, it’s fine! It’s just… I’m not used to so many people knowing, that’s all. It used to just be me and Five, Phil and Zahra, and Mitch… and Bergy, probably…”

“Wait, was I really the only one who didn’t know?!” Nix expressed in surprise.

Miko hummed. “Haneesh probably doesn’t know. Probably. There are a lot more people than I thought…”

“Well, if it means anything, sorry again and about Mitch too. He can be a real jerk sometimes, something we all actually know.” He then started scratching his chin in thought. “But it does explain why the security system messed up this morning.”

Miko's ears perked up. “Wait, what this about the security system?”

“Well, the new security system is supposed to include the unique signature released by the intruder back in the break-in. All those Glitches were modded but they shared a similar code. Kinda like how companion pets have their code modified so they wouldn’t activate the base's alarms.”

“We traced the code back to the master aka the intruder and using the signature from their tech, we basically added them to a blacklist. It should’ve been foolproof but…”

While his gauntlet was in wristband-form, he popped up a small blueish holographic screen. On it was images of two separate waveforms which then with a swipe, they started to align almost perfectly.

“See this?” He exclaimed, pointing at the layered signals. “The latent signal that you give out — you know, because you’re a Glitch — is almost the same as the one from the intruder. Like, what are the chances of that?!”

Oh, Meico.

Miko coughed nervously. “Y-yeah, what are the chances?”

Nix scratched his head in confusion. “Right, so after what happened today, the security team's trying to figure out what to do. It’s not like we can take them out of the blacklist. What if they come back? So yeah, it’s being worked on.”

Well, so long as it didn’t take too long, Miko was fine by it. She doubted Meico would attack again, not when she knew where the doppelgänger lived. Though to her credit, she hadn’t told anyone yet and probably never will. It was kinda uncomfortable to abuse her trust like that.

Miko assumed Meico trusted her somewhat, considering she’s here and not 6ft under.

“What is it like being a Glitch?”

“Huh, what?” Miko asked, having spaced out.

“You know, being a Glitch.” Nix repeated, leaning on the counter.”Is it scary or neat? Are you like stronger and faster than an ordinary person? It must feel like being a superhero!”

That’s a good question. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t feel any different. I’ve always been pretty strong and being GT is like, everyday superheroing!”

Nix chuckled. “I admit, being a Tech does make you feel like a superhero from time to time. The novelty wears off though once you realize we’re basically secret rat guys.”

Miko gasped, horrified. “Whaa?! Never! Not in a million gazillion years!”

Despite the initial disagreement, the two friends shared a laugh in the end. It was nice to talk from time to time, even if they were just co-workers.

“Hahaha… Well, I should head back. Nice talk, Miko!” He said, giving out finger guns. “See you around!”

“See ya, Scorekeeper!” Miko replied, waving goodbye.

Once again, she was alone with just her thoughts. Although, Nix’s question did make her wonder. What was it like being a Glitch? Sure, she could eat Ally's powerups like they were hers now and there’s the whole mysterious past thing she never told anyone except Five, but so far, she felt just the same as she always did.

There weren’t really many people to talk to about this. Everyone probably guessed the same thing; being a Glitch was awesome or existentially dreadful. And they weren’t wrong either. Miko wasn’t terribly bothered by being a Glitch but even she had the occasional thought bubbles.

Yet, what truly bothered her were the things she couldn’t remember. Most importantly: the Professor. She kinda wished there was a way to trigger those flashbacks. Sure, there were all pretty confusing and made no sense but at least they showed a good glimpse of her past.

That meant the only reliable source of information about her would be Meico and that girl hated her guts. Weirdly enough, Miko didn’t like how she didn’t like her lovable self and it wasn’t about ego either.

_Ding!_

That gave her an idea!

_Ding ding ding!_

At the counter, a little girl about 6 years old with a missing tooth repeatedly rung the little bell. Wearing colourful overalls, she had the cutest red pigtails and freckles on her puffy baby cheeks.

“Hewwo, miss? I wouwd wike to buy 'Doowm Eternaw’, pwease.”

“Of course. That’d be $59.99. Would you like to sign up for our store membership?”

* * *

_BZZZZZZTTT—_

_She can do this._

_Her hands were trembling, her knees weak and arms were heavy. Thankfully, she didn’t vomit everywhere even after eating spaghetti. Her breathing was jagged and uneven. No matter how hard she tried, her nerves stayed unsettled._

_You can do this._

Toot, toot, tiiiing! _“Begin!”_

_Just as she took her first step, the scene in front of her started shifting; parts of the platform raised itself, creating a long tight corridor with rib-like indents on the sides and only one exit. Within them, red-coloured humanoid enemies appeared, faceless and heavily armed. Their AI was simple: kill on sight._

_An enemy materialized from thin air and without pause, fired its rifle at her. Instantly, she brought up her shield and blocked the shots. She then rushed forward and slammed into it, sending it flying to the wall. Unfortunately, another set of 8 or so enemies appeared, firing upon her and forcing her to pull up her shield again._

BRR-RRR-RRR-!!!

_She braced herself against the hail of bullets but it was too much. Within seconds, her shield shattered and she took cover behind a corner._

_Gasping, she growled and smashed her fist into the wall, breaking off a piece of the elevated platform. Judging its weight, she took a deep breath and entered the corridor, throwing the broken piece at the first enemy. She then grabbed the stunned target and pushed through like human shield. As she got close, she threw the body at the others, breaking their formation._

_Before they could recover, she pressed her hand on the ground and gradually, her hair glowed. Her fingers crackled with electricity and from the tips, rectangular veins stretched rapidly throughout the hallway, from the floor to the ceiling. Like a pulse, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but the seed was set._

_This was her power. By planting nanites in the ground, she could shape the world with just a thought._

_Once done, she ran forward as fast as she could. Before they could aim at her again, a metallic fist shot out from the wall, hitting the combatant in the face. One by one, more appeared, following the will of its master — disarm and incapacitate her enemies._

_Unfortunately for her, her control wasn’t perfect. She had to manoeuvre the arms manually and keep watch at her opponents. Once she burnt out, she was on her own again._

_Yet, it was enough._

_The ability was powerful. No matter which dummy tried to attack, at just a glance, she could will the arms to appear from the walls and stop them. These were all simple AI so it was easy to predict their movements._

_“Hah… hah…” She panted. Even though it had only been a few minutes, she was exhausted. That’s her greatest weakness. She couldn’t last long in a fight, so the scientists told her not to use it._

_But she refused to listen. She didn’t care how taxing it was._

_Unfortunately for her, the nanites dissipated before all targets were handled. One more obstacle stood between her and the exit. As weak as she felt, she pushed through. There was only one way out and she wasn’t keen on losing._

_Having the body of a child, she was at a disadvantage. But this was just one enemy combatant. One adult, fully-trained combatant with an AI designed to see her as a threat, regardless of her size._

_She lifted both arms and got ready._

_The red humanoid aimed its gun at her but at this close of a range, she dashed and pushed the gun to the side, causing it to shoot elsewhere. She swung her leg at its knee and forced it to her level where she proceeded to elbow its face. She was stronger than the average child so even with her size, it still packed a wallop._

_Had this been a real human, it might’ve worked. Instead, the red figure grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back into the wall._

_“Gg-gah!” she choked. For a moment, she struggled to move as she couldn’t reach the ground. But then, she grabbed hold of its wrist and lifted both legs onto its arm before pushing against its head. Using all her strength, she forcefully pulled its arm harder and harder._

_The enemy tried to pull her off but she wouldn’t budge. Finally, its arm ripped off like a messed-up doll, effectively killing it. Lifelessly, it fell onto the floor and she, no longer manhandled, fell down with it._

_That was it. That was all she got. She didn’t care that she lost points for killing a machine. Standing back up, she dragged herself to the exit, relentless. It was her victory._

_She finally got to stand equally to_ her _._

_BZZZZZZTTT—_

_Trrrt! Trrrt! Trrrt! Trr— Ka-chuck!_

Within the confines of a presumably abandoned apartment complex, a vicious growl escaped the mouth of an angry beast. From underneath the thick blankets, one arm stretched out into the light and lightly slammed its hand onto a nearby alarm clock, shutting off its noise.

 _“Raaaa…”_ The beast groaned but after only a few seconds, discipline caught up and forced her awake. Throwing the blanket off, she lumbered through the darkness and to the bathroom, closing the door with a slam.

After what unknown horrors occurred inside the wet room, the door opened suddenly, steam billowing on the ground.

Humanoid Glitch, designation M-2, nicknamed Meico, walked out with her shoulder-length purple hair partially wet and in her indoor clothes: white undershirt and short pants. Had she been in a _défilé de mode_ , she’d be kicked out for crimes against fashion.

Well, not like she had to dress up nicely. Her mission was to keep watch of M-1 or Miko as she called herself. And so she did. On the plus side, she got to blow up the Japanese girl’s living room for good measure. She didn’t have to but boy did it felt so good.

It’s been about two weeks since she last saw Miko personally. During those two weeks, she planted several hidden cameras all over the town and hacked existing ones, allowing her to keep track of Glitch Tech activity, not just Miko’s. Truth was, she wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to look for. _‘Information acquisition and survey’_ , bah! They might as well be wasting her talents at this point.

Well, not like she had any choice on the matter. Even her previous missions were boring — break into some random facility and steal some documents. Either that or destroy some documents. Rarely did she ever have the chance to fight someone. Why was she even trained to take down security if she never got to use it?

Back when she was tasked to break into a Glitch Tech base and acquire some data, she was ecstatic. The thrill of such a dangerous mission! She would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling kids. She could’ve beaten them but after immediately being outnumbered by every Tech in the facility, it was a fool’s choice.

Stupid M-1 and her stupid human pet.

With a towel, she continued drying her hair as much as possible before throwing it in the growing pile of clothes. Maybe one day she’d wash them but unfortunately for them, that day was not today.

“Haaah…” M-2 yawned. Smacking her mouth, she walked up to the table and turned on her computer. Her ‘little set-up’ consisted of several screens, each connected to the numerous cameras all over town. She thought about putting a tracker on Miko the same way she did on her stuff but brushed it aside. Miko would’ve found it almost instantly.

M-2 moved the mouse and checked the individual cameras. Miko should be out with her human for their ‘Glitch hunts’, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find her. Most of the Techs were doing their daily work routines or just hanging out.

Look at them, being friendly with one another, sharing stories and gossiping about trash. Ooo, she hated that.

As her daily task, she continued to scroll through the cameras…

…

…

…

_Thonk!_

Okay, what was that?

M-2’s brows furled as she swung her head side to side. Maybe it was just her imagination?

_Thonk!_

Nope, it was real and apparently, from her window.

_Thonk thonk thonk!_

“Urgh…!” She groaned in anguish. M-2 stood up and headed straight towards the window. She swore if it was some kid throwing rocks at her place, she’d break their arms.

Once there, she unclasped the window’s lock and pushed it open, only to get a face full of hard jagged stone.

 _Whack!_ “ARGH!” M-2 screamed, holding her eye in pain. “YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

That voice… She knew that voice anywhere. M-2 looked down from her room and there on the sidewalk was Miko, in her Hinobi work clothes and with a small pile of rocks next to her. She waved her arms around, bringing attention to herself, though the rock alone was enough.

“Hi, there!” Miko greeted with a smile, happy to see her.

Her reply? M-2 unhesitatingly slammed the window shut again. “Oh, come on! I promise I won’t threaten to blow your door again!”

No reply but Miko was no quitter. She grabbed another rock from the pile threw it into the window. Being the gamer that she was, her aim was impeccable and so, each throw hit the window without fail.

Though after several throws, her arm began to grow tired. She was also running out of rocks. Still, with her second-last one, Miko threw the rock with all her might. Much like before, it hit the window perfectly but unlike before, this lucky piece managed to shatter the glass.

Before long, M-2 returned, opening the window angrily. “Will you stop that?!”

“I have something to say!” Miko shouted from below.

“I don’t care!”

Regardless, Miko grabbed a good-sized rock and pulled out a note from her pocket. Using some rubber bands, she tied the small note on it. Like a world-famous baseball pitcher, she then threw the note-tied rock straight at M-2.

Without flinching, M-2 easily caught the rock with one hand. She contemplated at ignoring the note and throwing it back in Miko's face but something stopped her. Sighing, M-2 ripped the note off, immediately reading.

“'Meet me at Coffee Shop AU tomorrow after work'... The fuck kinda place is that?”

“Look it up on Moogle!” Miko shouted. “AHH!” Just then, Miko leapt away and shrieked as M-2 threw the rock back, almost hitting her.

She purposely missed but she didn’t need to know that. It had just enough force to chip the sidewalk though, so that ought to scare her.

“Hey! It’s dangerous to throw rocks at people, even if they’re Glitch people!”

... She’s definitely not going to miss next time.

* * *

Coffee Shop AU. Despite its weird name, it was actually a very peaceful café built on a corner lot. Connected directly to the town's park, the café was a place for young adults to hang out and chat while buying themselves a variety of coffee or tea blends.

The owner was apparently a fanfiction writer, hence the name.

It was the afternoon which meant her shift was over. After changing, Miko immediately took the first bus here. She could’ve asked Five to give her a ride but she didn’t think her friend would appreciate seeing Meico again.

Miko was wearing a basic yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, losing the sweater. Well, as basic as fanmade Animal Crossing merch could be. It was just a memetic picture of Tom Nook with a gun asking for the house loans. Still, it cost a lot to buy, back when she didn’t have a job.

What definitely stood out were the cheap pair of sunglasses she was wearing. Miko had the brilliant idea of making herself look incognito, thinking that alone would work.

 _Sluuurp!_ Miko loudly drank her strawberry milkshake, looking out of the store. She was starting to wonder whether Meico would even show up. The thought worried her.

Out of nowhere, a random person took the chair next to her, surprising Miko. “Oh hey, this seat is taken.”

“What, didn’t you want me here?”

Wait a minute... Miko lowered her glasses and stared up. To her shock, it was the exact person she was looking for, wearing the same jacket and ripped jeans when they first met. Meico looked down on her with her own pair of tinted glasses before wordlessly taking a seat, her legs crossed.

“H-how did I not see you?” Miko asked, baffled.

Meico took off her glasses and just like that, they disintegrated into Plixels. “Incognito glasses. Keeps people’s eyes of off you. You Techs aren’t the only ones with fancy toys.”

Miko awed. “Oo hohohoh! That is so cool! Can I try it?”

“Screw off.” Meico growled. “Besides, what’d you call me here anyways? I don’t see other Glitch Techs ready to ambush me and I doubt you’re dumb enough to take me on solo.”

Gasping at the notion, Miko quickly waved her hands frantically. “Nononono no! Nothing like that! I promise. Cross my heart!”

She then politely pushed her drink at her. “Milkshake?”

“Does it taste like bubble gum?”

“I’m... not sure how to answer that.”

Nonetheless, Meico grabbed the milkshake and took a cautionary sip. She then paused, her mouth still around the straw, and Miko was sure she saw her eyes sparkled for a moment. She continued sipping, all the way to the end.

“... It’s not completely bad.” Meico quietly said. “Got any more?”

“You’ll have to order one and, uh, the bill’s on me.” Miko replied, pressing the call button on the table. She sure hoped that she brought enough. This place only accepted cash. “Anyway, I was hoping to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Well…” Miko scratched her head. “Nothing really. I just wanted to talk.”

Meico raised a brow. “You are a horrible liar.”

“W-wait, I am?!”

“No, but you fell for it anyway.” Meico scoffed. Just then, a waiter appeared with a menu in hand. Passing it to Meico, she flipped the pages to the back and tapped the menu. “I’ll have two strawberry milkshakes.”

“Will that be all?” the waiter asked.

“Yeah, yeah.” Meico replied dismissively. She handed back the menu and shift her focus back at Miko. “So tell me, what’s the real reason you called me here?”

Miko took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. “I know our last meeting went a bit… eh… so I wanted to apologize and start over.”

“Is that it?”

Miko then started fiddling with her hair. “Well… I also kinda want to know more about you and well, me. Like, I can guess that you hate me and I’m hoping you’d tell me why?”

Before a reply could be made, the waiter returned with the drinks and placed them on the table, along with the bill. Meico quickly snatched one and slurped its contents loudly.

“Mmm…” she hummed in delight. “I already told you why. You’re either deaf or dumb. Oh wait, I already know which.”

Miko pouted. “Come on, I’m really trying here! What can I do to at least make you not hate me?”

Meico chuckled darkly. “You could get beaten up. That’d lift my mood.”

_“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_

As if it was fate, a giant plant monster sprouted out of the park grounds and roared. The entire park paused, followed by everyone running in fear all over the place, their arms up high in panic. Several green tendrils whipped the area, crushing cars, fellow trees and playground equipment.

Even before scanning, Miko recognized exactly who this monster was. A plant-based Glitch, definitely from the game _Ghost Boy_. It was a video game adaptation of a popular cartoon and the plant monster, _Spirit of Nature_ , was one of the bosses.

A seedling that fell into a vat of toxic waste and thrown out into a nearby lake, it sprouted with a taste of vengeance, aiming to destroy all of humanity for pollution. It had a thick humanoid upper body that was rooted to the ground and thin spindly arms. Also, it had a beak for a mouth and large petals around its neck, somewhat like a fusion between a bird and a flower.

“Uh…!” Miko uttered, turning to her guest with a nervous smile. “BRB! Gotta check on something!”

Meico smirked, knowing full well what it was. “Sure, go ahead. Take your time.”

She knew it was sarcastic. She just didn't have time to humour her.

* * *

As fast as her legs could take her, Miko darted straight towards the Glitch, stopping just a few meters away. With a few taps on her gauntlet, she pulled up a screen and began calling BITT.

_Ring… ring… ring…_

“Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up!” Miko muttered. Hearing a click, the call was successful and on her screen was the little Hinobi robot with its perpetual smile.

 _“Good afternoon, Ms Kubota! How may I help you?”_ the robot helper greeted.

“BITT! There’s a big Glitch here and I’m a bit busy at the moment! Is there anyone left?”

_“Bzzzz— my apologies, Ms Kubota. All active Techs are currently engaged. I can send several reserved Techs if you wish. It will take approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on the traffic.”_

“That’s too long! You know what? I’ll just deal with it myself.” Miko devised.

_“Warning: such actions are inadvisable! Due to recent policy changes, active Techs must have a buddy when patrolling.”_

“Yeah, I know about the policy! But don’t worry about it…” Miko assured, signing off the call. “I’m Miko Kubota and I can handle the Miko-ation.”

Immediately, Miko paled. Oh Mario, she really was becoming Mitch.

Ignoring that horrible thought, Miko suit up, materializing her Glitch Tech armour from her gauntlet. Good thing they fit on top of any clothes she wore and were snug too.

“Hey, you!” Miko shouted, getting the Glitch's attention. “I think sustainable agriculture sucks!”

_“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_

Well, that worked. Miko summoned Ally the bird into battle and climbed on board. Before the _Spirit of Nature_ could crush her with its large roots, Ally flew off with her jetpack upgrade, missing by a mile.

 _“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_ It roared angrily, summoning tendrils from the ground, shooting them at the flying duo. With Miko in control, the two swooped over and under the thorny plant limbs, narrowly dodging its attacks. Miko glared at the Glitch, her visor checking for weak points.

When fighting larger Glitches, the best way to handle them was to strike weak points. All giant video game monsters had them. Not only was it easier but it was somewhat necessary, especially with gauntlets having a certain battery life. If you only did standard attacks, the gauntlet’s power would run out way before the Glitch could lose its physical form.

After a few seconds, the weak points were identified: seed cores, just like in the game. One on each arm and another in the chest. Miko summoned a giant blue sword and screamed. “FOR VALHALLA! HIIIYAAA!”

Ally as her steed, Miko dived down onto the _Spirit of Nature_ , brandishing her blade. With one swoop, she sliced off the Glitch’s massive arm, cutting a seed core in half. It roared in pain, thrashing all over.

“One down, two to go!” Miko cheered. “You’re going down, you overgrown salad!”

Meanwhile back at the café, Meico watched the fight, drinking her shake. She’ll never understand why Miko enjoyed this. It was a job so why bother to add smack talk to the mix? If it was her, she would’ve destroyed the Glitch without a single word.

Using the same tactic, Miko cut off another seed core with a single strike. The cut wasn’t as good as before but it did its job, causing the arm to fall off the body uselessly. Now, the _Spirit of Nature_ was truly armless like some giant snake.

“Man, this is easy! Don’t know why the buddy system even exists!” Miko said arrogantly. “Now then, just one left! And once we’re done, I’ll even introduce you to Meico. Ain’t that right, snookums?”

 _“CAW!”_ Ally cawed. Truly a majestic creature.

Much like in the game, the third core wouldn’t show up until the other two cores were destroyed. At this point, the _Spirit of Nature_ would change forms, becoming more animalistic at a higher damage per hit. Though, it was unsure how the last one worked in real life.

Suddenly, the Glitch's chest broke open, its ribs pointing outwards. The seed core — twice the size of the other two — was right in the middle. Before she could do anything, the flower petals contracted and covered the head, initiating the second phase.

It leaned and fell on its front, and began chasing after them like a deranged centipede, destroying anything in its wake. The ribs acted as its legs, ripping the roots out of the ground. At the same time, tendrils emerged across the body’s surface, lashing at anything around it.

“Oh, nerds!” Mik swore. Pulling Ally, the two turned and flew away at rocket speed, the Glitch right behind them. Contrary to its size, it was extremely fast and the main reason why it was so hard to deal with in-game.

A few tendrils shot forward, attempting to skewer them. Missing, it’d instead grab onto a tree and pull it back, blocking their path. Miko dodged both with finesse but she was starting to see why the buddy system existed.

Miko frantically scrolled through her gauntlet. “Come on, come on! There’s gotta be something here that could help!”

But before she could find one, a single tendril managed to latch onto Ally's leg and with a sharp pull, the unsuspecting Miko was sent flying, bouncing painfully off the ground. “AAAAHHH— OOF!”

The Glitch pulled Ally harshly, inspecting the bird. Realizing this was not the Tech, it whipped Ally across the park, launching her into a pond.

Ally crashed into the water with a large splash, scaring the nearby ducks. When she floated back up, the ducks noticed her superior size and colour and quickly swam around her as if she was their matriarch.

 _“CAW!”_ Ally cawed. The ducks cawed with.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the battlefield, Miko groaned in deep pain. Her entire body ached and it’s a wonder that she was relatively unharmed. Either the armour that protected her or she might just be more durable than the average teenager.

Before she could even stand up, several tendrils roped her in, wrapping around her tightly. It then pulled her closer, causing her to fly high up in the air.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!” Miko shrieked for her life. Suddenly, the tendrils stopped and Miko, who was still tangled in it, opened her eyes. To her horror, the petals atop the Glitch bloomed and within, the head reappeared, roaring in her face.

_“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_

If this was how she’d die, Five better delete her browsing history. Her shameful searches must never be released into the public.

Before the _Spirit of Nature_ could swallow her whole however, the exact same voice called out from ground level, albeit with a certain knack for vulgarities. “Hey, you retarded mulberry bush!”

The Glitch stopped and looked downwards. There, Meico stood in her black leather jacket, glaring at it with furious eyes. Even Miko was shocked but honestly, she thanked the gaming Gods if they ever existed.

“Yeah, I’m talking to you! I don’t care what you do to this place and as much I enjoyed watching her fail, _M-1 is mine._ ” She hissed. “If anyone gets the right to beat her up, it’s me!”

Despite her threats, Meico was like an ant to it. So, the Glitch ignored her. Unfortunately for it, that was a bad move as, without a second of pause, Meico summoned a high-tech rifle from her own gauntlet and aimed at the exposed head.

“Get rekt, scrub.” Meico spoke out loud. With a pull of the trigger, a .30 calibre bullet shot out of the barrel and upon impact, exploded in the plant Glitch’s face in a cloud of crystal dust. In terrible pain, it flung Miko off to the side, crashing into a tree.

“AAAAHHHH— OW!” Miko screamed, falling off the tree like a baby bird. “Urgh…”

The Glitch tried to scratch its face but with the lack of arms, all it could do was shriek. The specially-made Plixel-based dust wasn’t just for show; it carried small electrical charges that would disrupt a Glitch's physical form. If used on a person, it’d be like walking into a cloud of pure electricity.

No longer dazed, Miko shook her head and looked up, awestruck. “Woah… That is so epic! Can I try?! Please, pretty please!”

Meico clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Don’t touch me!”

_“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_

Both Meico and Miko turned to the Glitch, one that looked absolutely enraged. The dust didn’t last long — designed simply to stun, not harm. Raising its body up high, it slammed its entire torso onto the ground, cracking the earth underneath and shaking the park down to its foundations. Meico wobbled from the quaking and with her footing loose, the Glitch charged at her, fully intent on hitting her with the force of its entire being.

“Look out!” Miko shouted. She jumped onto Meico, pushing her out of the way. By just an inch, the Glitch missed its mark, passing behind them.

“Get… off!” Meico yelled, aggressively pushing Miko off her body. “What’d you do that for?!”

“You were going to get hit! Did you want me to just watch?!” Miko argued. Meico grounded her teeth in frustration, contemplating about strangling her. Unfortunately for her, another beastly roar interrupted the two lookalikes. The Glitch, after having missed, began circling them, building up momentum.

Miko and Meico immediately pressed themselves onto each other, back-to-back.

Her gauntlet aimed forward, Miko asked. “Can your rifle destabilize a Glitch’s physical form?”

In turn, Meico scoffed, her rifle on standby. “Who do you take me for? I’ve dealt with my fair share of Glitches.”

“Thank Iwata for small miracles.” Miko mumbled under her breath. “With my current tech, the best I can do is chip away its body. If we can hit the seed in its chest, we can take it out easily.”

“But right now, it’s flopping on the ground like a dead fish. That means we have to make it stand up.” Meico added. “Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any of my heavy artillery. But I’ve got a plan.”

Miko nodded. “Alright! Just tell me what do!”

Exactly then, Meico grinned. “Get it pissed.”

Immediately, the duo began firing everything they got on the Glitch. As if it was Independence Day, explosions littered the area, each shot its own bullseye. The _Spirit of Nature_ might be fast but Miko was a top gamer while Meico was a child soldier. A lumbering 15-meter giant plant wasn’t going to get away that easily.

 _“RWWAAAAAR!!!”_ The Glitch roared angrily. Without stopping, it switched directions and headed straight after the duo.

“I think it’s mad!” Miko shouted.

“Yeah, no shit!” Meico replied in a hostile tone. Throwing her rifle away, Meico breathed in and out slowly, focusing on maintaining a steady rhythm. Her heartbeat slowed as she calmed down, allowing her to think more clearly.

“Uh, M-Meico? W-what are you doing?” Miko asked warily as she watched the literal impending doom encroach them.

“Shut up.” She replied, placing her hands on the ground. “I need to focus.”

Breathe in and out. In and out. Listen to the wisps of the grass, the tunnelling of earthworms and the magnetic field that surrounded the planet. The little minerals all mixed up in the dirt underneath, each with their specific charges and frequencies.

“Meico?! It’s getting closer!”

The earth rumbled beneath her feet. She could hear it. No, she could feel it, shaking through her very being. Steadily, her hair glowed purple and floated as if lighter than air.

“MEICO!”

_BZZZZZZTTT—_

_M-2 held her arm in pain as it dangled uselessly, mangled and broken. Her body would heal but it wasn’t fast enough. While she was here, heavily injured and disabled, her opponent was untouched._

_It’s not fair. They were supposed to be the same._

_Unable to do anything else, M-2 fell on her knees, tears flooding down from her eyes. Even without looking, she could feel her opponent’s presence in front of her, looking down with indifference. Even against M-2, she never took her seriously. Even then, she didn’t have to._

_“Controlled sparring over. Winner: M-1.”_

_BZZZZZZTTT—_

For a moment, time slowed down. For a moment, everything was frozen like ice. And in that moment, a pulse appeared from Meico’s hands. Outside of Meico herself, only Miko noticed as the pulse travelled onto every surface in the park, from the trees to the craters.

Meico’s hair shined brilliantly and the world was flipped upside-down. Literally.

In a blink of an eye, the ground spewed upwards, shooting to the sky. Hands made of stone sprouted from the holes and pushed the Glitch like a ramp, holding it upright. While most succeeded in holding its shape, others broke apart almost immediately, falling into debris. The soft earth of the park worked against her as slowly, more and more arms crumbled.

Miko thought the new HQ was cool. She also thought the rifle was cool. Now, she saw what truly counted as the ‘coolest’.

“I want that.” Miko whispered, amazed to the point of having stars twinkling in her eyes.

“H-hurry up!” Meico spoke in a struggle. “I c-can’t hold onto this too long! Controlling thousands of Plixel nanites isn’t exactly easy!”

“Can I have that? I want that.”

“WILL YOU JUST KILL IT ALREADY?!”

“Oh y-yeah, right!” Giddily, Miko aimed her gauntlet at the seed core, a grin on her face. As ordered, a singular blast shot out and upon impact, shattered the core into millions of pieces. Instantly, the entire Glitch began to fizzle and glitch out.

“And now for the finale!” Switching to capture mode, a stream of energy flowed out of her gauntlet and onto the Glitch, linking the two. Her gauntlet rapidly absorbed the Glitch's energy, breaking down its physical form. Ultimately, only the root Glitch remained, instantly captured.

Victorious, Miko posed. “Thanks for calling tech support!”

Right next to her, Meico stared her with a tired judging look.

“… What?”

“That… was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Miko turned to her in shock. “What?! No, it isn’t! It's cool!”

“In what way was that cool?”

Miko lifted a finger to argue, only to stop before a word could be spoken. She finger weakened and she thought deeply about it. “W-well, Five and Mitch do it! They’re like the bestest guy Techs I know!”

Even exhausted, Meico continued to stare. “And you believed them?”

Miko's expression slowly shifted from befuddlement to shock, followed by an intense internal crisis and finally, pure dread. “Y’know…! W-well… Ack! Egg! Ggh…!”

“…”

“… It’s still cool!”

Meico scoffed with a small smile. “Yeah, whatever.”

“But you know,” Miko began, smiling back. “As cool as that catchphrase was — and it is — what you did back there was even cooler.” She grinned. “Thanks a bunch!”

Meico’s eyes widened upon hearing those words and slowly, a blush crept over Meico's face. She quickly turned away in a futile effort to hide it. “Y-yeah, well I didn’t do it for you!”

“I know! But thanks anyway.”

Meico refused to reply, worried that the blush was still there. It was weird being complimented by Miko, especially when she knew who truly was. Thinking back, Miko acted so differently from the one she was familiar with. Occasionally, she could see glimpses of who she was but most of the time, she was this super-positive and hyperactive Japanese girl.

Hell, she wasn’t even Japanese!

Meico knew that Miko didn’t remember but was this really all that was left?

Suddenly and out of nowhere, a portal appeared right in front of them. From it, out came a Hinobi company van.

Just as the vehicle stopped, its passengers jumped out of the van and did superhero landing. From then on, they began posing side by side, changing into different styles and unique looks. It was all so well choreographed that one might think they practised this.

“Glitch Techs, assemble!” The robot-looking figure said.

“Wes!” the blue-themed twin announced.

“Ray!” the other twin in pink continued.

“And Nameless!” the robot finished. “Glitch Techs, reporting for duty. Did somebody call for tech support?”

Oh, this was new.

The two Glitches stared at the newcomers, processing what just happened. Slowly, Meico leaned towards Miko and whispered. “I take it back. _That_ was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Say, where’s the Glitch?” Wes asked, looking around.

His sister Ray fiddled through her gauntlet, checking the info. “Not sure. We got word from the Bailley HQ that there was a massive one here but I’m not picking anything up on my scanners.”

“… Uh, hey there!” Miko greeted. Instantly, the three Techs pointed their gauntlets at the Japanese, startling her. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

Their gauntlets continued charging until Ray noticed the gauntlet Miko was wearing. “Wait, hold on. Guys, lower your tech. She’s one of us.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Nameless exclaimed. “Sorry about that. Different town and all.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ve never actually seen you guys before.” Miko queried.

“That’s because we’re from Dabney. We were passing by to get some smoothies from a nearby café—”

“But then we got a call from your HQ about a Glitch problem. So we came here, no prob.” Wes and Ray explained. “Still though, where is it? Did it get away or something?”

“Uh, that? Don’t worry about it.” Miko then flashed her gauntlet, showing the Glitch's status. “I handled it.”

The Dabney Techs all stared at the gauntlet, surprised. On a normal day, it would’ve taken an entire team to handle something that massive. Yet, this new girl they’ve never met did it on her own.

Nameless was the first to break out of the stupor. “That’s incredible! You’ve got some mad skills.”

Miko blushed. “Hehe, thanks! I like your outfit.”

“Hah! Glad you like it! Designed it myself.” Nameless replied, blushing underneath. “Say, what’s your name?”

“Oh, it’s Miko. Miko Kubota.”

That name sounded familiar. “Miko…” Nameless muttered. He was sure he’d heard of it before. Just recently, in fact!

Suddenly, it clicked. “Wait, Miko? The 'Miko'?!”

After Nameless repeated it out loud, Ray and Wes finally remembered as well. “You’re Miko?! The human Glitch?!” Ray asked.

Miko’s eyes widened when she heard that term. How did these people know? It only became so-so public yesterday! It’s not like Glitch Tech has social media! “Uhh... Where did you hear that from?”

“Dabney's the closest town to Bailley. A little gossip from one to another happens all the time.” Wes explained.

“I actually heard it from a Tech here who goes by the name Bergy.” Nameless added. “We meet up every week for some tabletop roleplaying. He’s a one-of-a-kind DM.”

Wes nodded. Bergy was indeed amazing at designing campaigns. “Still, is it true that you’re a full Glitch? Or part-Glitch, if that even is possible?”

“Uh—!”

Ray then appeared by her side, scanning her with her gauntlet. “Hm, scanners aren’t picking up anything. Maybe it’s just a rumour?”

“Woah, personal space, du—!”

“Can you sign my gauntlet?” Nameless asked.

Miko went full stop when she heard that. She turned towards the robot-looking person, weirded out. “Eh, what?”

“You know, since you’re a Glitch. I changed my entire look to be as non-human as possible, like some sleek Medabot. You being exactly that is, by far, the raddest thing I’ve ever seen.” Nameless explained. “Don’t worry. I always carry a permanent marker with me.”

Okay, now she was starting to feel creeped out. The twins were focused on figuring out what she was while this 'Nameless’ dude was trying to get her autograph. She was honoured by it but her gaming career hadn’t even started yet.

Unexpectedly, Meico, in her incognito glasses, stepped in between them. She raised her arm over Miko. “Hey, back off!”

Nameless tilted his head, confused. “Uh, who are you? Where did you come from?”

“I’m from None-Of-Your-Business and the one who’s going to kick your ass if you don’t step back, bub.”

“Woah! Chill, girl!” Wes exclaimed, raising his hands weakly. “We’re just curious, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well, take that curiosity of yours and shove it up where the cat died.” Meico hissed. “Don’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable?”

The Dabney Techs turned towards Miko, who shyly looked away, an embarrassed look on her face. Realizing what she meant, Nameless coughed awkwardly. “Oh, uh, sorry about that. We didn’t mean it.”

Meico glared harder, as if she wanted them to spontaneously combust. Ray and Wes slowly backed away, followed by Nameless being the last. “Uh… yeah… A-hem, sorry. We’ll just, um, fix up the mess. It was nice meeting ya. Again, sorry.”

After the Dabney Techs left to clean up and memory-wipe, Miko and Meico were left alone together again. For a moment, it was quiet between them. No words exchanged between them. Just Miko looking at the backside of her lookalike.

“You didn’t have to do that, y'know.” Miko muttered.

“I did it because I wanted to.” Meico replied. “I still hate your guts but that’s your fault. This is my own choice.”

Silence blanketed the area as the two finished their talk. Even after all this, Miko still had didn’t understand her. To begin with, Meico was not an easy person to talk to. And yet, Miko still had to try. It was the only way for them to get close.

She just needed the right words…

“Misaki.”

“Huh?” Miko blurted, puzzled.

“The Professor’s name. It’s Misaki. She’s the one that created you. Created me.” Meico stated. “But you’re the only one she ever cared about. Take that for what it’s worth.”

Without another word, Meico walked away, not even looking back. Miko watched as her lookalike — no, her _sister_ — slowly disappeared from view. She was still figuring out as to what happened and alone, Miko was unsure what to do with this information.

Misaki, huh? It’s a nice name.

* * *

At the other side of the country, a bustling city stood in place. It was nothing like the Bailley Phil was used to. No, this city had it all. Skyscrapers that towered over its residents, an incredible complex but highly efficient public transportation system, fantastic beaches and forests with breath-taking views of the ocean and let’s not forget the city’s self-sufficiency through the use of solar farms, hydroponics and a really big dam.

No matter how many times he’d been here, Phil Altiere couldn’t help but whistle at the sight. Just as he walked out of the airport, a limousine waited for him by the entrance and its chauffeur stood nearby, holding a digital tablet with his name on it. It is in no way common for this to happen but he had to admit, he liked the service.

The drive to the Hinobi Technologies main HQ was a short one. Due to how well public transport was, most people didn’t have cars. So the roads were all empty. Electric cars and hybrids took over, along with charging station funded by, you guessed it, Hinobi Technologies.

It’s funny, really. Before Hinobi existed, this was a ghost town. With the lack of natural resources, what sold the town the most was its forests and beaches. But even then, it wasn’t anything spectacular. Plus, no one in their right mind would travel halfway across the country just to go vacationing at this dump.

Everything changed when Hinobi Technologies came to existence or as it was called back then, Hinobi Electronics. The company was but a small store in the early days, selling recycled electronics and other junk. But its founder was an inventor at heart and was in love with entertainment. He loved listening to music and watch movies with friends.

So he designed a phone. One that was not focused on communication but on media. It had a large screen to watch television on and custom-made speakers to get good sound quality. With one small move, he brought a Renaissance to the world of entertainment with tech that focused on making your free time as comfortable as possible. And it all became possible because of a single phone.

At least, that was the published story.

Glitch Tech was an underground organization that handled the appearances of Glitches. Though more importantly, it handled the care of their products. A specialized group dedicated to maintaining and repairing their own broken tech. Sounds dumb, didn’t it?

But that did beg the question. How did Glitch Tech come to being, and why? Was Glitch Tech made to fix Hinobi’s own mistakes or was it there even before Hinobi was a thing? Only authorized figures knew the answer to that. As far as the public knew, Glitch Tech didn’t exist.

“We’ve arrived, sir.” The driver announced. Pressing a button on the driver’s door, Phil’s own passenger door opened automatically. How excessive, really.

Even though Hinobi practically owned the town, their main headquarters was about the size of a college campus. A handful of glass-paned rectangular buildings separated by a clearing in the middle and oddly enough, located at the outskirts of the city. The buildings weren’t small by any means but had it been built in the city centre, it would’ve been dwarfed easily.

Phil entered the building’s lobby with nothing but his suitcase, black sweatpants, a boring T-shirt and his khaki cotton jacket. He didn’t have the chance to visit his hotel yet, so it wasn’t his fault for being casual.

“Phil? Is that you?” A shrill voice called out. Phil looked around and right there by the desk, his old friend Barbara was standing by in her professional suit and tablet in hand. Considering her attire, she was probably working as Inspector 7 today.

“Barbara! It’s nice to see you!” Phil replied jovially. “I’m surprised you’re here, so far from home.”

“Oh, Phil. You know full well an inspector’s job has no borders.” Barbara jokingly said. “Also, I’m actually here to as your escort.”

“Escort? That’s quite a lot of work for a manager like me.” Phil remarked.

Nonetheless, Barbara just waved it off. “Oh, it’s fine. The board of directors didn’t want you to get lost on your way to the meeting room. You always never could find the office,” she then whispered. “But somehow, always reached the cafeteria. Ohohohoho!”

“Now come on. The elevator’s this way.”

After a couple of minutes of classical elevator music and traversing some winding hallways, Phil and Barbara finally arrived at the meeting room, simply labelled as ‘Meeting Room 1’. Phil opened the door, hoping to find some old guys sitting around a long table. Instead, he was greeted by literally no one.

“Wait, where’s the board?” Phil asked, confused.

Barbara then walked forward to the table but didn’t take a seat. Instead, she swiped on her tablet and the curtains automatically closed, darkening the room for some well-needed privacy. “Well, here’s the thing; the cafeteria had a recent food poisoning problem so none of the board could be here, on account of them being in the hospital.”

Food poisoning? Hospital? What?

“But don’t worry! They actually already discussed regarding your… Miko-ation, if you get my gist.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Phil repeated, shaking his head in bewilderment. “If the board already knows what to do, why did they even call me?”

Barbara smacked her lips. “Hmpf, well, they wanted to hear what you had to say in person, in case they ever needed to change anything before it’s finalized. But since they’re not here, we can’t exactly do that, now can we?”

“Anyway, let’s talk business.” With another swipe, a projector and its white screen slowly lowered from the ceiling. Even with all the modern technology, they still couldn’t get rid of this one.

“In case you forgot, what makes Hinobi special is the use of nano Plixel technology in our products. It works wonders but has the side effect of accidentally creating Glitches.” Barbara explained, changing the slides. “However, we're not the only ones that use Plixel tech. A few others also use it in their own way. For example, AI development.”

She then changed the slide, showing a company's logo. It was a top-view drawing of a brain in light electric violet colour. Underneath, the company’s name was written out — Turing Robotics.

“We’ve dealt with artificial intelligence before and we believe Miko has a connection with this company. There’s no definite proof but outside of all current companies that utilize Plixel tech, this is the one most capable in creating her.”

On the next slide, several other companies were listed, all of which also using Plixels in secret: Tilted Towers Communications, DigiHealth, Spuffy Comforters, Hornographics, etc.. Plixel-based technology might be a secret to the public but that wasn’t the case among these large corporations. They kept a close eye on one another.

“The good news is that Miko Kubota will be able to continue to act as a member of the Hinobi family, plus a guarantee of a future position. Most people would kill for that, oho.”

“I’m sensing a 'but'…” Phil interjected.

“But as we said, there’s no definite proof that Turing Robotics has anything to do with her. It was only through the study of the broken disc that we even remotely think it’s them.” Barbara answered. “In case another attack occurs, the board decided to elect a representative to watch over her and the Bailley HQ. Hopefully, it’s only temporary but until we’re absolutely sure, this is the best we can do.”

Phil nodded silently. That was the problem with secret underground organizations; there were no real rules when two groups come to conflict. People didn’t die when they get involved — they disappeared as if they never existed. Each one of these companies had their reasons for staying in the dark and any laws or regulations just didn’t work.

Countries and governments fought wars in public. They had real and visible politics with news stations watching their every move. When the battles were done in the shadows, no one would ever know. No history books, no written records, no nothing. No one to judge what was right and wrong.

“Alright then. So I’m guessing I’ll meet them back at Bailley. When will they arrive?” Phil asked.

Barbara laughed. “Ohohoho, don’t worry about it.”

“She’s already there.”

* * *

The office was a luxurious place. From Mitch’s perspective, Phil was really wasting it. Everything in the room was just purely work-related, with the exception of the posters. Sheesh, even the coffee machine was Hinobi’s. Probably was even given by the company, considering how dark and bitter it was.

Then again, that might just Phil’s preferred taste. Not sure if that was better or worse.

After about 6 cups within the span of two days, the bitterness was starting to grow on him. He would’ve adjusted the settings but Zahra just had to be a conservative about it. As if Phil would’ve noticed when he changed it back.

Mitch breathed in, the thick smell of coffee permeating through him. Oh, he’s going to miss this. With the cup in hand, Mitch walked back to the desk, having nothing else to do except for checking reports and overseeing other Techs. The room’s curtains were down, creating a sort-of ‘noirish’ atmosphere. While he handled the Glitch Tech stuff, Zahra handled the boring store management parts.

On the other hand, on his way back, Mitch noticed something critical — there was someone else in the chair. Someone he didn’t recognize.

Immediately spilling the cup on the floor, Mitch aimed his gauntlet, its lens charging up. “Who the _boosh_ are you supposed to be?”

In his chair sat a young adult woman, her back straight, legs crossed and hands folded. While the cover of darkness did well in hiding most of her features, she was already wearing a full midnight-themed Glitch Techs uniform and armour, hiding every inch of her skin. She also had a brown tattered cloak and hoodie as if she came from the wasteland of an apocalypse movie, and a gauntlet fixed on the right arm. She did, however, have a helmet with a digital screen, covering her entire head.

The helmet blipped and a synthesized chirpy voice spoke.

**“HELLO THERE. I’M INSPECTOR 0. IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU :D”**

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you like it? I'm sure you noticed the Dabney Techs cameo and even the fact that Simi isn't there. That's because she hasn't transferred yet. Simple as that.
> 
> As said previously, I wrote a bunch of stuff before AO3 deleted it so here's a recap: I didn't do well in explaining Meico's power because I didn't want it to sound like an infodump. So, I'm putting it here. Also, it's not a cop-out and Miko also has her own abilities. You've seen it before in "Miko's Reboot" and here again. 
> 
> I also added a new character. She's super important and knows a lot more than she looks. Also, for her design, just imagine Tali'Zorah from Mass Effect and Nameless from this series, fused together. It's kinda like that.
> 
> Meico has the ability to implant Plixel nanites into the surrounding area, allowing her to basically mould the place like PlayDoh. It has several weaknesses, however, such as the incredible energy usage that leaves her exhausted, the amount of control it takes, and the fact that the nanites disappear when she stops using them. It also works best on homogeneous materials such as metal.
> 
> Anyway, kudos, comment and remember to subscribe to the series for updates! I hope you had a good time reading and I'll see you all soon! Toodles :D


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